Reviewer: ElPolloDiablo, 45-54 on Treatment for 10 years or more (Patient)

Comment:
10mg for almost 20 years now. If I was reviewing brand name Ambien, then it gets ten stars across the board. I used to be able to take that. When I did, I would have about 15 minutes to get to where I was sleeping for the night. Since being switched to generic it has been considerably less effective. I'm a firm believer that generics are not always equivalent, and my experience here bears that ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
10mg for almost 20 years now. If I was reviewing brand name Ambien, then it gets ten stars across the board. I used to be able to take that. When I did, I would have about 15 minutes to get to where I was sleeping for the night. Since being switched to generic it has been considerably less effective. I'm a firm believer that generics are not always equivalent, and my experience here bears that out. I can sometimes take one orally and have zero effect. Different generic manufacturers produce different effects, too. At one point my insurance allowed me to get Edluar (sub-lingual), and it was wonderful. 10 minutes and I was asleep. Since they disallowed it, I decided to try dissolving the ordinary immediate release under my tongue to varying success. For the most part it works great. It isn't really all that bad in terms of taste, so long as I keep it trapped tightly with my tongue. If you try it, place it under your tongue just as you are turning out your light to go to sleep. It takes a bit to dissolve completely, but probably 70% of the time I'm asleep before it has finished. I rarely get an amnesiac effect using this method. That said, there are still times where I feel no effect, and may have to take a second. Bear in mind that this is designed to put you to sleep, not keep you asleep. Half-life is ~3 hours. However, I've found that if I am able to fall asleep initially, I am almost always able to get back to sleep if I do wake in the night. I would estimate an average of 7-8 hours of decent sleep. My insomnia is related to deeper mental health issues, so your experience may be better.
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Reviewer: SamO, 65-74 on Treatment for 10 years or more (Patient)

Comment:
Overall good experience. However, about 30 minutes after taking Zolpidem I have and urge to eat snacks. Sometimes like there is no tomorrow.

Comment:
Overall good experience. However, about 30 minutes after taking Zolpidem I have and urge to eat snacks. Sometimes like there is no tomorrow.
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Reviewer: sleeplessintheus, 35-44 Female on Treatment for 1 to 6 months (Patient)

Comment:
I have to cut pill in half, sometimes thirds, because full pill turns me into a useless zombie following day. I take 15 minutes before laying down, gets me to sleep and only wake 2-3 times during sleep, mainly to readjust position. Dream well. However, even with just half a pill, I can't get myself out of bed for about 10-12 hours, I experience severe vertigo for 1-3 hours accompanied by 4-5 h ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
I have to cut pill in half, sometimes thirds, because full pill turns me into a useless zombie following day. I take 15 minutes before laying down, gets me to sleep and only wake 2-3 times during sleep, mainly to readjust position. Dream well. However, even with just half a pill, I can't get myself out of bed for about 10-12 hours, I experience severe vertigo for 1-3 hours accompanied by 4-5 hours of dopiness, and experience a near total loss of meaningful cognitive function and any motivation to get anything done. Zolpidem (generic) is NOT to be compared to Ambien, as Ambien has none of these awful side effects. Sadly, the existence of Zolpidem and price-gouging in the US has prevented insurance coverage for Ambien and purchase of Ambien for the millions of us without insurance. Zolpidem is not safe, for hours after waking up I am still unable to drive without being under the influence. FDA should take this drug off the US market. In the meantime, it would be much safer and productive, sadly, to live with chronic insomnia.
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Reviewer: WannaSleep, 55-64 Female on Treatment for 6 months to less than 1 year (Patient)

Comment:
The peach colored Zolpidem my pharmacy just used to fill my prescription is absolutely NOT real Ambien and is completely ineffective! What a waste of a couple nights with zero sleep.

Comment:
The peach colored Zolpidem my pharmacy just used to fill my prescription is absolutely NOT real Ambien and is completely ineffective! What a waste of a couple nights with zero sleep.
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Reviewer: Mckay, 45-54 Female on Treatment for 6 months to less than 1 year (Patient)

Comment:
Since starting my pre-menopause years, I have had trouble sleeping. I believe it is mostly hormonal. The doctor put me on this drug. I did get more sleep but did still wakeup several times a night. I would have liked to keep taking it. However, I found that a few days after taking it, I became severely anxious and depressed. I am typically not like that. I then went off the drug for a while ... Show Full Comment

Comment:
Since starting my pre-menopause years, I have had trouble sleeping. I believe it is mostly hormonal. The doctor put me on this drug. I did get more sleep but did still wakeup several times a night. I would have liked to keep taking it. However, I found that a few days after taking it, I became severely anxious and depressed. I am typically not like that. I then went off the drug for a while. Desperate again for sleep, I went back on it. Again, I found myself in a deep depression and anxiety. I repeated this cycle several times so I am now sure it is the drug. I really wanted to keep taking this because I did get more sleep. I have to say, though, my husband is also on it and does very well on it. So, it likely depends on your genetics and how this drug will personally impact you. I believe it is worth trying because it did improve sleep quality. Just for me, the resulting severe anxiety was far too difficult as a side effect.
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